Blast-furnace



No Model.)

H. HUBER.

BLAST FURNACE. I No. 495,675. Patented Apr. 18, 1893.

b I I 1, B 3 r 1a A f UNTTED ST TES PATENT @Trion.

HERMAN HUBER, OF ARGENTINE, KANSAS.

BLAST-PU RNAC E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,675, dated April 18, 1893.

Application filed June 9, 1892. Serial No. 436,043- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMAN HUBER, a citizen of Switzerland, and a resident of Argentine, Wyandotte county, Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blast-Furnaces, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

forming part of this specification. My invention relates to blast furnaces, and

the object thereof is the provision of mechanism by which the operation of the furnace shall be rendered much easier, and its efficiency increased, whereby a saving is effected in time, expense and material; and to this end it consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts and details hereinafter described and specifically pointed out in the claims.

The accompanying drawing represents a sectional elevation of a furnace embodying my improvement.

In said drawing A represents the upper portion of the shaft of a blast furnace, the construction of the shaft itself being well understood by those skilled in the art, and requiring no specific description here. In cross section it is preferably round, or of rectangular shape rounded at the corners. The top of the shaft is flared outwardly, and is surrounded by the chamber B, which rests on the walls a of the shaft. The chamber B is usually constructed of boiler iron. Within said chamber B near the top thereof is suspended a pipe 0, which communicates with a suitable source of water supply and completely encircles the inner wall of the chamber B. The under surface of the pipe 0 is provided with a continuous line or lines of perforations c, which are suitably located to deliver, in the form of a spray or series of sprays, throughout the lower portion of the chamber B, the water which enters the pipe 0 under; pressure. An outlet or overflow pipe D communicates with the chamber B, and through this the surplus water sprayed into said chamber escapes into a settling tank. The inner wall of the chamber B is provided with openings 1), which communicate with the shaft A. I usually provide four of these openings arranged symmetrically around. the shaft.

In the outer wall of the chamber B is an opening which communicates with the flue or down take E. Suspended centrally over the shaft, or furnace cavity, is the thimble E, which is of the same shape and usually has about the same cross sectional area as the shaft. The thimble F is open at both ends, and is secured to the inner wall of the chamber B by short braces or webs f. A plate or series of plates G covers the chamber B and the annular space between the chamber and the thimble. This plate or cover is so arranged as to be readily removable, and thus afford access to the interior of the chamber B and the furnace shaft.

The operation of my improved furnace will be readily understood, and is as follows: The furnace is charged so that the charge extends well up into the thimble, and Water under pressure is admitted to the pipe 0. It will now be evident, that the gases and other products of combustion will pass into the annular space between the thimble F and the chamber B, and then into said chamber through the openings 5. Here they come into contact with the water jets or spray delivered by pipe 0, and pass through said chamber into the down take E, by which they are conveyed to the flue dust chamber, or to the smoke stack as desired. The action of the water jets or spray on the furnace gases not only cools them,but materially increases the precipitation of flue dust and volatalized lead, which are carried thereby; and the precipitates settle'partially in the bottom of the chamber B, whence they are removed by taking off the cover G, and are partially carried with the surplus water through pipe D to a settling tank, from which they are readily collected.

My improved furnace presents many advantages over the blast furnaces heretofore in use. In the first place by the construction shown I am enabled to use a thimble having a diameter as great as that of the furnace shaft whereby the charging of the furnace is facilitated, and the charge descends evenly into the shaft, and blow-holes overfire and hot tops, and the hanging or crusting of the charge along the sides of the furnace, arising from an uneven distribution of the charge,

are largely prevented. This arrangement in connection with the removable cover renders all parts of the shaft, the chamber B and the down take readily accessible for the purpose of cleaning the down take, barring down the sides and removing the flue dust which accumulates in the lower part of the chamber B. These operations, which with my improved furnace may be so expeditiously performed, always necessitate, with furnaces as heretofore constructed, the stoppage of the furnace and the loss of much time. I am also onabled to provide openings for leading off the furnace gases on all sides of the shaft, instead of on one side only, as heretofore, thereby producing a more regular operation of the furnace. By subjecting the furnace gases to the action of the water spray in their passage through the chamber B, their temperature is eficctively reduced and the furnace top protected in case of overfire. The precipitation of flue dust and other metallurgical products is also largely increased, thus reducing the metallurgical losses to a minimum.

Another advantage possessed by my invention is that the furnace shaft need not necessarily be built or rebuilt expressly for use therewith. The parts thereof can be constructed in any boiler shop, and the invention can be applied to almost any form of furnace by workmen of ordinary skill at very small expense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a blast furnace, the combination of the shaft, a chamber surrounding the top of the shaft and communicating therewith, a removable cover G for said chamber, a fine or downtake E leading from said chamber, and a thimble suspended centrally over said shaft, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a blast furnace the combination of the shaft, a chamber surrounding the top of the shaft and communicating therewith, a flue or downtake leading from said chamber, a water sprinkling device located in said chamber, a water escape pipe leading from said chamber, and a thimble suspended centrally over said shaft, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a blast furnace the combination of the shaft, a chamber surrounding the top of the shaft and communicating therewith,a removable cover for said chamber, a fine or downtake leading from said chamber, a water sprinkling device located in said chamher, a water escape pipe leading from said chamber, and a thimble suspended centrally over said shaft, substantially as shown and described.

7 HERMAN HUBER, Witnesses:

RUD. RUETSCHI.

JULIUS V. BRIESEN. 

